I’m delighted to participate in the book tour for Janet Gurtler’s latest novel 16 Things I Thought Were True. I love her work, and 16 Things is no exception! Today, I have for you my review of 16 Things as well as a Q&A with Janet.
by Janet Gurtler
Genre: YA Contemporary
Paperback: 304 Pages
Publication: March 4, 2014
by Sourcebooks Fire
Heart attacks happen to other people #thingsIthoughtweretrue
When Morgan’s mom gets sick, it’s hard not to panic. Without her mother, she would have no one—until she finds out the dad who walked out on her as a baby isn’t as far away as she thought…
Adam is a stuck-up, uptight jerk #thingsIthoughtweretrue
Now that they have a summer job together, Morgan’s getting to know the real Adam, and he’s actually pretty sweet…in a nerdy-hot kind of way. He even offers to go with her to find her dad. Road trip, anyone?
5000 Twitter followers are all the friends I need #thingsIthoughtweretrue
With Adam in the back seat, a hyper chatterbox named Amy behind the wheel, and plenty of Cheetos to fuel their trip, Morgan feels ready for anything. She’s not expecting a flat tire, a missed ferry, a fake girlfriend…and that these two people she barely knew before the summer started will become the people she can’t imagine living without.
What do you look for in road trip stories?
Fun, whacky things that you do when you’re trapped in a car with someone. You really get to know people when you’re in a car together for hours and hours. You have the best talks and things get real. That’s what I look for. Real. And funny.
The inspiration behind 16 Things I Thought Were True.
I am an oldie but a goodie. Ha ha. I tell people I’m a goodie anyhow. My point being that I did a lot of stupid things when I was a teen. And I was always the person who got caught. So I imagined that if I were a teen in today’s world, I would have embarrassing things spread all over the Internet. And what if something embarrassing went viral? It would force lots of changes…
What kinds of real-life experiences were drawn from for the writing of 16 Things?
I’ve hidden in bathrooms for a little while to take a breather from social situations that make me uncomfortable. Morgan did that. J The twin’s car, the Cutlass 422, that belongs to my husband. There are some things woven in, embarrassing moments etc that “May” have come from real life.
Janet’s road to author was a little windy. While in college, she worked as a DJ in a night club. After college she worked as an advertising copywriter for radio and then TV and eventually was lured over to sales and marketing. She missed writing though and, years later, she started her first book. She has been writing books ever since.
Author: Crystal
A story girl at heart, Crystal is a bibliophile who can easily spend the day immersed in a good read. She writes under the name Kristy Wang. You can follow her writing adventures on X and Instagram @_kristywang.
Karen says
I have this book on my Kindle. It sounds like a lot of fun and I love that cover.